His.
Conservative Republican, former Governor of New Mexico, Gary Johnson.
Questions he would like answered by President Obama, who recently said we should debate legalization:
Why, with record federal deficits and states teetering on the edge of bankruptcy, are we spending billions on yet another failed Prohibition that is accomplishing nothing other than making criminals out of millions of otherwise law-abiding citizens and fueling drug cartels that threaten our fundamental national security? Is it not time to try something different?
Despite lip-service, about the need for treatment, harm-reduction and other strategies to address drug use as a health issue, why do the federal government's actual policies and budget still treat the situation as almost entirely a law enforcement problem?
How do we reconcile the fact, that in a supposedly free society, it is legal for a responsible adult to purchase and consume alcohol, while purchasing and consuming marijuana is a crime? I, along with millions of other Americans, are still waiting for a credible answer to that one.
Me, too.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/gary-johnson/yes-it-is-time-for-pot-le_1_b_816376.html
This is pretty interesting. Gary Johnson is really taking a political chance by making claims like this publicly. To me, and I agree with everything johnson says, it's pretty obvious what needs to be done bout marijuana. What I find interesting is that as long as pot has been in the u s. Were just now probably the closest to legalization. Makes me think about our capitalist society, does money control things with so much power that it is now influencing the hard headed conservatives to change their stance on legalization. I mean the stats haven't changed much. I don't think the pot we are smoking now days is too much different than the pot Americans have been smoking for decades. But all the sudden our country is in a finicial crisis and legalization starts to sound pretty good.
ReplyDeleteNow im not saying that legalization will be an easy process, and I know that it's not a simple matter. But how does saving billions stacked on making millions possibly billions sound. Were obviously saving money by cutting out the criminal aspects of it bu then we will make money off taxing it. For the record again i know it's not that simple, but what I'm saying is also not that far from the truth.
Now enough with my opinion on the matter. This story and the one below about the conservatives changing their stance on the drug war, does give a pretty clear example about finacial powers.
Now from what we see this ex governor is simply coming out about, what I think is the truth about marijuana. But this may not be the whole story. Think about the backing this guy could get politically if his new found pro legalization ideals starting bringing in serious money. Now the book tells us the power of the 6 major media sources, the inner circle. We know that money is the main component of what drives them. This seems like a pretty good example of what's going on in the political agenda right now. Legalization is now starting to spark up, is this simply because we need money? We've seen the government funded horror stories about what it can do to us. Do they not care about us anymore because their broke? I don't want to kill myself after my first toke of legalized pot. Gives us something to think about.
prohibition has only given Americans something to divide themselves by. CNN provided a rough estimate of how much tax revenue on marijuana would generate (http://www.cannabisnews.org/united-states-cannabis-news/cnn-projects-marijuana-tax-revenue-for-every-u-s-state/ for reference). Since the deficit has only gotten larger across two president's terms, i feel that if we legalized it and centralized it, then tax revenue could help generate an outside source of revenue that only grows and cannot be stopped. So as soon as marijuana is legalized, we create hemp. Hemp can create clothing, which in turn creates jobs. Isn't that the other problem we seem to be having? Not enough jobs? Well legalize marijuana nationwide and create millions of jobs for citizens from the beginning of harvesting to the final sales of the product. Also, something i learned in BZ's class, prisons are overcrowded with first time drug offenders. If we legalized marijuana, some of the stress would be lifted from our prison system.
ReplyDeleteI am also still waiting for a credible answer. Alcohol sales are a major economic contribution to this nation. What's a better stimulation package than the legalization of marijuana? It would be government regulated and this would cut down on a lot of the crime involved with marijuana. Those against marijuana should just continue to not smoke and let those who do to smoke in peace.
ReplyDelete